This story foretells the survival of the Cherokee people, and so it is no surprise that it is located at Old Echota, one of the three original Cherokee cities where the sacred fire burned. Although Old Echota and several Overhill towns have been submerged under Tellico Lake, as has the village of Tugaloo, the location of the sacred fire for the Lower Towns, the Cherokee people still survive and are preserving Kituwah, center of sacred fire for the Middle Towns, and the first Cherokee village.

Cherokee Heritage Trails in Tennessee bear a markedly different character from those in North Carolina. Because Tennessee has no contemporary Cherokee communities, the living Cherokee heritage is not well represented, although a number of venues offer works by Cherokee artists and crafts people, and periodically scheduled events present Cherokee performers. Neither is the eastern Tennessee landscape well represented in traditional Cherokee stories, many of which derive from the Eastern Band and focus on locales in the North Carolina mountains.

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Sites In Vonore
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum
Fort Loudoun State Historic Park
Tellico Blockhouse

Sites Near Vonore
Chota and Tanasi Memorials

Side trips
Knoxville - Frank H. McClung Museum
Knoxville - Treaty of the Holston Park

Scenic Drives
Overhill Towns - Hiwassee Old Town, Turtletown, Zion Hill Baptist Church
Unicoi Turnpike Millennium Trail to North Carolina

Events
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum Festival
Fort Loudoun Trade Faire
Christmas at Fort Loudoun

*Editorial Note: For an in-depth look at each one of the interpretive centers along the Cherokee Heritage Trails, including complete articles and quotes, detailed information on all the historical sites, amazing full color photography depicting the land and its people, stories from many of the Cherokee Elders and much more about the wonderful Cherokee culture, make the Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook a part of your personal library. Click here to find out more.